Comes Around
by Belle Walker
Summary: Sequel to "What Goes Around". It's Kensi's turn to take care of Deeks.
1. Chapter 1

"He tried to cure me of it, and caught the flu himself," Kensi explained to Hetty over the phone. "Yeah, I'll take care of him. And I'll try to be in tomorrow."

Finally ending the call, she set her phone down and gave Deeks a look of part sympathy and part amusement.

"What?" he grunted.

"Missed me that much, huh?" she teased. "Get yourself sick too, so we end up spending twice as much time together?"

"Actually…" He sat up to make room for her on the couch. "_You_ were supposed to get well so _I_ could be the hero for doctoring you. _My_ getting sick wasn't part of the plan."

Kensi sat down sideways to face him, raising a gentle hand to his forehead as he'd done to her for the past several days. "Well, you're definitely hot."

He grinned at her with one eyebrow raised at the implication.

"Feverish," she amended firmly.

"You said I'm hot."

She gave him a tight smile, rising to her feet. "And you can play patient _and_ nurse all by yourself."

"No, Kensi!" he backtracked in protest as she abandoned him. "Wait — I'm sorry! Please?"

She turned back to look at him once before disappearing into her bedroom. Ignoring his presence in her apartment for a while, she brushed her teeth, showered, and put on a fresh set of clothes.

When she came back, she found Deeks in the kitchen where he now stood at the counter opening a can of chicken broth to pour into a small pan.

"That better not be for me," Kensi commented, reaching past him into the cupboard for a clean water glass.

He sniffed. "It's not."

She took pity on him. "Go sit down — I can do that."

Deeks let her take the pan of broth and set it on the stove, but he turned the burner knob himself to make sure it was on the right temperature to avoid scorching the broth.

"How much garlic do you use?" Kensi asked, opening the small jar of creamy minced garlic and peering inside.

Instead of answering, he came up behind her and reached around on both sides. Kensi was a tall woman, but even barefoot Deeks still had several inches of height on her. His left hand covered hers on the open jar as his right hand picked up a spoon.

It was a bold violation of her personal space…and any other time, Kensi would have given him an elbow to the gut to remind him of the boundaries that were supposed to exist between them.

But she just couldn't be mean to him while he was sick — and she really wasn't as opposed to the physical contact as she often tried to make him believe — so she allowed him a free pass this time.

Deeks stuck the spoon into the jar and pulled out a glob. "About that much."

Kensi peered up at him over her shoulder with a smile playing at her lips. "You could have just said 'a spoonful'."

He grinned down at her, awfully close. "Where's the fun in that?"

Kensi eyed him for a second longer before turning her attention back to the saucepan on the burner. "You gonna stir it in, or what?"

Her left hand was still held captive mid-air between Deeks' left hand and the jar, so Kensi turned the tables on him by putting her free hand over his to control the spoon.

The small jar of remaining garlic was seemingly forgotten until Kensi's hand finally moved to set it down. And even then, neither one of them let go of it immediately.

Deeks was walking on dangerous ground, and he knew it. Blame it on the fever — he could always claim delirium if necessary.

The prolonged contact between them was starting to affect Kensi, and she felt her cheeks grow warm as the hard muscles of her partner's chest and stomach pressed lightly against her shoulders and back.

She needed to put some space between them. "Why don't you go back to the couch?" she suggested, focusing her eyes on the pan of broth and garlic bits. "I'll bring you some when it's ready."

Deeks nodded. "Yeah…alright." His left hand slid away from hers, and his right allowed her to take the spoon.

Cool air rushed at her back as he stepped away, and Kensi wondered briefly if Deeks had felt the same goosebumps that she did.

She shook the thought from her mind and reached for a clean coffee mug, filling it with the steaming broth.

The garlic and broth smelled good — she was curious to see what it tasted like without a stuffed-up nose.

She brought the mug to her lips and took a sip.

The garlic was so strong she almost choked! Eyes watering, she grabbed her water and guzzled it down.

"Oh my _god_," she gasped. No wonder that stuff had cured her — that much fresh garlic could knock the congestion out of anything!

"Everything okay in there?" Deeks called out.

"Fine!" she croaked back, filling her water glass again.

"You tasted it, didn't you?" he laughed at her.

Kensi came through the doorway balancing the mug of broth, the glass of water, and a bowl of cereal. "How can you drink this? It's _horrible!_"

He laughed again at the expression on her face. "Not being able to taste it really helps," he answered, reaching for the mug. He took a large gulp. "Mmmmm."

Kensi shuddered, rejoining him on the couch with her water and cereal. "Gross."

"It does its job," Deeks replied easily, cupping both hands around the warm porcelain mug.

"Yeah, well...drink up, and then I'm driving you home."

"Aww, no more slumber party? I was looking forward to a good pillow fight."

She socked him with a small decorative couch pillow.

"Ow — I wasn't serious," he reneged. "And you almost knocked the cup right out of my hands."

"Oh, I wasn't anywhere near the cup. And it's almost empty, anyway."

He finished the last swallow, and the cup joined the coffee table.

"Put your shoes on," Kensi ordered him. "You're not riding in my car barefoot."

He sniffed and looked over at his discarded shoes. "Home's too far away. I think I'd rather stay here."

He started to lay down again but Kensi caught him. "No! No-no-no-no — Deeks!" She pushed against his shoulder to prop him back up. "_No_. You need to go _home_ to sleep. And you probably need to let Monty outside for a while, too."

At the mention of his dog, Deeks sighed. "You're right. He's been shut inside since last night."

"And you don't want to find any 'surprises' on the floor," she pointed out.

"Party pooper," he accused, shoving his feet into his shoes.

* * *

He climbed out of the car with a dull throbbing in his head. He looked at the distance between himself and the front door of his apartment, and turned an entreating eye to his partner. "Could you carry me?"

A smile quirked at her lips. "You big baby." But she came around the car anyway and ducked under his arm to support him with her shoulder.

Deeks leaned on her gratefully but keeping in mind that Kensi still wasn't completely back to normal strength yet, herself.

Monty met them at the door, overjoyed that his master was finally home to let him outside for some bladder relief.

"You go on," Kensi told Deeks, slipping out from under his arm. "I'll take care of Monty."

"Thanks," he sniffled, his feet dragging him to the bedroom. He dropped heavily onto his bed, spreading his arms out to the sides at a diagonal with the mattress and closing his eyes.

He hated having the flu. It didn't wipe out his energy reserve like it did to Kensi — and yet he actually wished it would because that would still be better than what he normally went through with it.

Because when Marty Deeks had the flu, it usually plagued him with a contradicting mix of fatigue and restlessness. A feeling like he was antsy to do something, but too tired to actually do it.

And medicine only made it worse, which was why he preferred to doctor himself with nutrient-rich chicken broth and minced garlic.

He heard the front door shut, and Kensi rattled some dog food into Monty's bowl. Then he heard soft footsteps and his mattress dipped slightly.

Déjà vu, but in reverse. This time it was Kensi who perched on the edge of the bed.

"Do you want to drink some more garlic?"

He gave a two-syllable grunt in the negative.

"What — are you afraid of taking your own medicine?" she teased with a playful poke to his side.

He gave a congested sigh. "No…I just don't want any more right now."

Kensi wasn't going to force it on him. "If you change your mind, let me know."

"I thought you were dumping me here and taking off."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Thought I might stick around for a little while. I seem to recall my partner doing the same for me when I was sick."

He smiled. "That's 'cause your partner's awesome."

"Oh, yeah? So is yours."

"Yeah, she is," he agreed seriously, opening his eyes again to look at her. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"No…I just thought you might have better things to do than sit here staring at your handsome but flu-infected partner."

Kensi laughed softly. Boy, he sure did have a thing about his looks. The worst part was that it was actually more honesty than it was vanity.

"Get some rest," she said, rising from the bed. "I'm going to see if Monty wants to go for a walk."

"Have fun," Deeks answered. "Kensi?" he called before she could leave.

She came back to stand by his head. "What?"

"Bring me a blanket?"

She just looked at him. "Deeks…you're laying on your blankets — just get under them."

"Too much work," he responded tiredly.

Kensi sighed. "Move over."

Deeks rolled onto his stomach to occupy one-half of the bed, and Kensi managed to tug the blankets down enough so that he could poke his legs under them without too much effort. But first, she had to yank his shoes off his feet.

It didn't seem to bother Deeks to be in bed with his jeans on, so Kensi pulled the blankets over him for warmth.

"Now _rest_," she ordered, giving his blanket-covered backside a spontaneous slap before leaving the room for good.

Deeks grinned to himself. Someday he was going to get away with slapping her rear, too.

Kensi took Monty out to circle the block a few times and bark at the squirrels.

Deeks was fast asleep when they came back, and Kensi didn't see any reason to stay longer, so she snuck back out and locked the doorknob behind her.

She'd check on him again tomorrow evening after work.


	2. Chapter 2

Kensi unlocked her partner's front door like she would any other door she didn't have a key to.

If Deeks could come and go in her apartment with his trusty lock-pick, so could she with _her_ lock-pick and _his_ apartment.

Monty met her at the door with a wagging tail and friendly sniff, and she patted his head with her free hand.

In the kitchen, she set a grocery bag on the counter and removed several new cans of chicken broth, chicken noodle soup, and a new jar of minced garlic. She lined them up on the countertop and threw the bag in the trash.

She refilled Monty's food and water, and then went to check on her partner.

She placed a new box of tissues by his alarm clock and sat gently on the bed, watching him sleep.

His breathing was a bit noisy due to his sinus congestion, and he coughed softly in his slumber.

She brushed the hair off his forehead and laid her palm against his skin. He was still quite warm.

At her touch, Deeks inhaled deeply, opening his eyes. "Hi," he greeted, his voice thick from sleep.

Kensi smiled down at him. "Hey there, sleepyhead. How do you feel?"

He stretched his arms and folded them behind his head on his pillow. "Like crap."

"Sorry," she answered sincerely.

He sniffed. "It's not your fault."

"I brought you some Kleenex," Kensi told him. "But you're not allowed to throw any at me."

"Hmmph…someone's got a double standard." He fixed his gaze on her. "So…first day back. How was work?"

"Kind of slow, actually," she admitted. "Nothing new yet."

"Anyone miss me yet?" he asked with a grin. "Besides you, I mean."

Kensi gave him a little smirk. "You are so full of yourself."

"So nobody then, huh? Figures."

"Sam's out with the flu, too," she told him.

"Sam?" Deeks echoed. "How'd he get it?"

"Well…you were partnered with him for the same three days you were taking care of me," Kensi answered. "I guess you passed my germs along to him before getting sick, yourself."

Deeks couldn't help a wry chuckle. "Oops."

"Yeah…I hear he's not a happy camper. But hey — as long as you're _both_ out sick, he can't kill you for it yet."

"Always a bright side to things," he quipped.

"Are you hungry?" Kensi asked, serious now. "I brought chicken noodle soup, if you get tired of your liquid garlic diet."

Deeks considered that. He hadn't thrown up yet, so he figured semi-solid food probably wouldn't hurt. "Soup sounds good."

"Okay." She slid off the bed, and Deeks got up, too.

Sometime last night he must have changed out of his jeans, because now he wore rumpled pajama pants as he shuffled toward the bathroom.

Kensi couldn't help a little smile to herself at seeing her partner looking adorably sleepy and clothed in his pajamas.

In the kitchen, she found his smallest saucepan and dumped a can of chicken noodle soup into it. It warmed on the stove as Deeks stalked into the room and sat down at the table.

"Do you want some toast with your soup?" Kensi asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be standing in her partner's kitchen offering him food.

"Yeah," he answered. "Thanks."

"One slice, or two?"

"One. With butter."

She complied, setting warm soup and buttered toast before him and sitting down with a hot TV dinner for herself.

Kensi studied the man sitting across from her at the table. "You really _are_ styled-by-pillow, aren't you?"

He grinned easily, swallowing a bite of food. "All natural. You couldn't fake this if you tried."

"Do you even own a comb?" she wanted to know.

"A comb?" he feigned ignorance. "What's that?"

At her scoff of amusement, he answered, "Yes, I own a comb. I even use it once in a great while."

He paused, eyeing her thick dark hair. "I think you could pull off the sexy bed-head look. A small tangle here; a slight bird's nest there…maybe a little crease running across your cheek courtesy of my pillow," he finished impishly.

Kensi kicked him under the table.

"Ow — hey! Handle with care," he chastised.

"I think your fever's affecting your judgment," she warned him seriously. He was a natural flirt anyway, but being sick just seemed to bring it out even more.

He cleared his throat. "I think you're right. Dialing it down."

"Thank you."

Deeks finished his dinner of soup and toast, and Kensi washed the few dishes they'd dirtied.

It surprised him that she would wash his dirty dishes when she didn't seem inclined to tackle the ones piling up in her own kitchen at home.

"What?" she questioned, sensing his eyes on her.

"Nothing," he responded, rising from the table and pulling a glass down from the cupboard to fill with cold water.

Kensi shrugged it off, setting the last rinsed dish on a towel to dry. "How's your dinner settling?"

"Pretty good, so far," he answered neutrally. "If I need to hurl, I'll definitely keep you posted."

She wrinkled her nose. "Thanks."

Sipping on his cool water, Deeks went back to his bedroom to get the box of tissues Kensi had brought him. In afterthought, he grabbed his pillow too.

Kensi remained in the kitchen for a while longer and came back with two steaming mugs.

"Getting your fix of garlic again?" her partner voiced, arranging his pillow behind his head as he sat upright on the couch.

"This is hot chocolate," Kensi informed him lightly, offering one of the mugs. "It'll warm you up _without_ making you gag."

He accepted a mug. "It's been a while since anyone made me hot chocolate."

"It was always my comfort drink as a kid," Kensi revealed simply. "Hot chocolate, whipped cream, and cinnamon."

Deeks nodded. "Whipped cream. Good for more than just dessert." But the warning look on his partner's face kept him from elaborating on what, exactly, whipped cream was good for.

Kensi finished her hot chocolate and stood up. "I'm going to head home. Do you need anything else before I leave?"

Deeks looked around him. He had both cold water and hot chocolate. He had a box of clean tissues, and a trash can for the used ones. He had his TV remote and his pillow. Only one thing was missing… "I'm kinda cold. How about that 'slanket' you bought me?"

"Where is it?"

"Coat closet." He pointed. He moved his pillow to the spot on the couch that Kensi had vacated, and stretched out on his back.

Kensi found the sleeved blanket on the shelf and pulled it down. She shook it open and draped it over him.

"Tuck me in?" he requested softly.

"You really do love being fussed over, don't you?" Kensi observed mildly.

Deeks gave her a satisfied grin. "Now you know why I appreciate nurses."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," she said simply, poking the edges of the material around him. "Cause Nurse Kensi is retiring after this."

"That's a shame — I was gonna hire you on full-time."

Kensi gave him a playful pat on his fabric-covered chest. "You couldn't afford me."

He chuckled, settling into the couch under his soft, comfy blanket-with-sleeves that his partner had thoughtfully given him a long time ago.

From his bed in the corner, Monty whined when Kensi went out the door.

"Yeah…I know, buddy," Deeks told him, turning on the TV. "But she'll be back tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

He was sitting on the couch, waiting for her, when she picked his door lock again.

"It's a good thing my neighbors already know who you are," he commented as she came in.

"And why is that?" Kensi responded, mildly curious about what he meant.

"Otherwise, they'd probably be calling the cops to report the hot cat burglar who keeps breaking into my home."

Kensi just looked at him with the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. "I think you're feeling better."

Deeks gave her an easy grin. "Doubled-up on my magic potion and it's knocking the flu right out as we speak."

"Good," she answered evenly. "I guess that means I'm not needed here tonight."

He staged a cough. "You know, I think I'm feeling a little sinus pressure coming back…and, uh…ooh —a little dizziness…"

Kensi couldn't help laughing at him. "You are such a faker!"

He cleared his throat, and in a serious tone, he amended, "Actually, I'm _not_ feeling perfect just yet. I was just hoping to impress everyone with a fast recovery..."

"And I'm supposed to believe that you still need a babysitter?"

Deeks gave her an innocent look. "I'm still sick. Scout's honor." And he held up two fingers.

"You _are_ sick," Kensi agreed. "In the _head_."

"It takes one nut-job to know another," he jabbed lightly, although the comment was completely ridiculous in itself because neither one of them was actually crazy.

Giving her partner the benefit of the doubt, Kensi let the conversation drop. But something else caught her attention and she now looked at him with a suspicious eye.

Deeks had replaced his pajama pants with clean blue jeans today, but that shirt he had on…

"Is that the same shirt you were wearing yesterday?" She asked, looking closer. "_And_ the same one you were wearing the day before _that?_"

He glanced down at his shirt. "…maybe…"

This, coming from the hygiene freak? Kensi gaped at him, appalled. "Really, Deeks? The same shirt three days in a row?"

Deeks sniffed. "It's my favorite shirt."

"Ugh." She wanted to gag. She disappeared into his bedroom and came back with a fresh t-shirt in her hand. "Put on a clean one," she ordered, throwing it at him.

"Nurse Kensi's bedside manner leaves much to be desired," he grumbled to Monty, stripping off the dirty shirt and pulling the clean one over his head.

Satisfied with that, Kensi finally joined him on the couch, choosing a spot in the far corner a respectable distance away.

Ever the troublemaker, Deeks took that opportunity to stretch out across the couch on his back and lay his head in her lap.

Kensi looked down at him with raised eyebrows. "You're treading on thin ice there, buddy."

"Oh, come on, Fern," he coaxed, his blue eyes sparkling up at her entreatingly. "I let _you_ cuddle when you needed to."

She inhaled a loud breath as if to inform him that he was really trying her patience. But she was not immune to his charms.

"Alright," she sighed, allowing him the physical contact. "But only for a little while."

"Thank you," he answered happily, closing his eyes.

"Drool on me, and you'll _really_ be in trouble," Kensi warned lightly.

He chuckled. "Noted."

Her gaze lingered on the face that she knew so well.

Even sick with the flu, he was still awfully handsome…especially with his deliberately messy blonde hair falling adorably above his closed eyes.

Her fingers lifted a lock of hair away and skimmed lightly across his warm forehead.

"I felt that," he murmured, a smile appearing on his lips.

She gave his scruffy cheek a gentle pinch. "You need to shave. You're starting to look like Monty."

"Oh, yeah?" Deeks responded with a teasing smirk, opening his eyes to peer up at his partner again. "Be extra nice to me, and I'll let you stroke my back hair."

Ugh. Trust him to bring up her phobia of back hair.

"Thank god you don't actually have any," Kensi reminded him in a knowing voice.

"I guess you'd know," he continued to flirt. "You couldn't wait to get me out of that shirt."

"That's only because I couldn't stand the smell of it any longer. It was getting ripe."

"You _like_ my scent."

She scoffed. "There's a huge difference between _scent_ and _stench_. One more day, and that shirt would've crawled off you on its own."

"Whatever. I want it back when you're done sleeping in it," he baited, closing his eyes again.

Kensi bit back her smile, giving his shoulder a gentle poke. "You better get well soon so I can get back to kicking your ass."

He sniffled again. "No, I think I like it better this way. You have to be _nice_ to me."

There was humor in her voice as she ordered, "Go to sleep."

He chuckled, crossing his arms comfortably over his chest and welcoming the sleep that came.

Trapped, Kensi sat there feeling a bit awkward. Not because of the physical proximity between herself and her partner…but rather because she now had no room to put her left arm anywhere.

Her right arm she could lay across the arm of the couch, or prop her elbow there with her chin leaning on her hand.

But her left arm just didn't have such freedoms.

She tried lodging it up behind her head. She tried stretching it over to cross with her right elbow. She even tried tucking it against her stomach, but nearly elbowed Deeks in the head in the process.

There was simply no place to comfortably rest her left arm except for right across the middle of her partner's chest.

She wondered if he didn't plan that on purpose.

Having no other option, she finally allowed her forearm to rest tentatively on his chest, her elbow bent a little above his own crossed arms and her fingers dangling over his far shoulder.

She half expected to hear a flirtatious comment of some kind from Deeks about the obvious placement of her arm, but thankfully he appeared to be fast asleep.

She let her arm relax.

Deeks felt her arm settle across his chest, but he wisely kept his mouth shut and feigned sleep. Because he figured that the moment he opened his mouth, the cuddling would end and the pain would begin.

That was not to say that Kensi was _abusive_ toward him. She just wasn't the type to not defend herself with physical force. It was in her instinct and in her training.

Granted, her spurts of self-defense against him had been quite real at the beginning of their partnership, but Deeks had noticed that as time went on, the elbows to his gut and the punches to his shoulders had become less and less frequent. And occasionally, he suspected that she only struck out at him because he'd expected such a reaction from her and she didn't want to disappoint.

In any case, he counted himself privileged to have her as a partner. And the fact that she'd allowed him to see her sick and vulnerable only deepened his admiration for her.

Deeks breathed deeply, shifting his shoulders just slightly but keeping his eyes closed so Kensi wouldn't know he was still awake and thoroughly enjoying his prime position with her on the couch.

Kensi kicked off her shoes and reached for the TV remote. She muted the volume and enabled the closed captioning so it wouldn't disturb the man who dozed with his head in her lap.

She was pleased to find an episode of _America's Next Top Model_ that she hadn't already seen, although she was pretty sure it was a re-run.

It turned out to be a marathon, and she enjoyed two full episodes in total silence aside from the sound of light breathing coming from her sleeping partner.

Deeks slept for about two hours before the flickering light from the TV began to filter through his eyelids and prod him back to consciousness.

"Getting your Top Model fix?" he murmured.

Kensi looked down at the sound of her partner's voice, but Deeks' eyes were still closed. "How do you know what I'm watching? I have the sound muted."

"Lucky guess," he answered easily, finally opening two sleepy eyes and rubbing a hand over his face.

Kensi's gaze returned to the television screen as she restored the volume to hear the judging begin.

She must've forgotten that her arm was still resting across his chest. Either that, or she really didn't mind the close contact.

In any case, Deeks sure wasn't complaining.

His hand gripped her left wrist and tilted it as he squinted at the oversized watch Kensi wore. But it was too dark to really see the numbers.

"It's almost eleven," she supplied helpfully, still focused on the TV.

"Hmm." He released her wrist. He really needed to use the bathroom, but was reluctant to give up this cuddling he'd miraculously been indulged with.

But the call of nature soon won out, and a disappointed Deeks dragged himself upright and away from his partner's very pleasant touch.

Kensi immediately missed the warmth across her thighs and beneath her arm, and her eyes secretly followed her partner's back as he exited the room.

She shook the loss from her mind, turning the TV power off and placing the remote control on the coffee table.

All but forgotten on his bed in the corner, Monty suddenly sprang to life when he noticed his people were up and about again.

He whined at the door and Kensi let him out to do his business.

Then she resumed her spot on the couch and now sat comfortably sideways with her knees pulled up and her sock-covered toes poking into the cushion.

"So…how's work?" Deeks asked conversationally as he came back to the couch and sat down facing her.

Kensi shrugged one shoulder. "It's work. Same as usual, except I'm partnered with Callen."

A random thought occurred to Deeks, and he chuckled.

Kensi looked at him. "What're you laughing at?"

"I was just thinking…Callen should be catching the flu soon, too."

"How do you figure?" Kensi wanted to know. "Since he hasn't been around you or Sam since you both got sick?"

"Well…if Sam got _your_ flu germs from _me_, I figure Callen's getting _my_ germs from _you_ in the same roundabout way."

It was a logical deduction, she admitted. "Well, you know what they say…what goes around, comes around."

"You think they'll nurse each other back to health, too?" Deeks continued with a grin.

Kensi laughed at the very idea. "Not a chance."

They shared a long look between them until Kensi broke the gaze and softly cleared her throat. "It's pretty late…I should get going."

She put her shoes back on and found her keys. "We probably should bring your car back here soon," she told him neutrally. "It's still sitting at my apartment. If nobody's towed it away, that is."

He'd forgotten about leaving his car at her place. She'd driven him back home in her car the day he'd succumbed to her flu germs.

"We can do that tomorrow." He felt well enough to drive again. In fact, he was feeling a lot better all around.

"Alright." Her hand paused on the doorknob. "Goodnight, Deeks."

He graced her with an impish grin. "Goodnight, nurse. I hope you enjoyed the cuddling as much as I did."

"Oh my god," Kensi muttered, rolling her eyes and exiting quickly.

Deeks chuckled at her retreat, rising to lock the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Kensi entered the bullpen at work, surprised to find her partner sitting there at his desk.

He'd showered, thinned out his facial scruff…and _god_, he smelled good!

She allowed herself a refreshing inhale of his cologne as she casually passed by. "I didn't expect to see you here this soon."

"I guess your nursing skills are better than you thought," Deeks replied with his signature grin.

_Nursing skills_, she scoffed in her head, setting her bag on her desk. All she'd really done was provide him with some company and moral support….with a little dab of cuddling thrown in.

He'd done a lot more for her when she was sick than she'd done for him. But if he wanted to give her credit, she wasn't going to argue.

"How'd you get here?" Kensi now asked, recalling their conversation last night about his car still being at her apartment.

"Cab. I'll get my car tonight."

"Good morning, Mr. Deeks," their petite boss greeted as she approached the group of desks. "I trust that all is well?"

"I'm right as rain," he answered simply. He glanced at the empty desk next to him and then at the one beside Kensi. "Is Sam still out?"

"Mr. Hanna is still home with the flu," Hetty confirmed in her classic understated nature. "And Mr. Callen, too, as of this morning."

Deeks shared a significant glance with his partner, and Kensi spared a grin behind Hetty's back.

Their boss turned to leave, adding, "With any luck, we won't need them today."

Kensi waited until Hetty was gone before she spoke again. "So…you're completely over the flu?"

Deeks nodded. "Barring a teeny smidgeon of lingering sinus pressure…yes."

"Good."

"I am kind of disappointed though," he continued, eyeing her across the empty space between their desks. "I never did get my sponge bath."

"Well…I'll tell you what." Kensi rose from her chair and came toward his desk, a playful gleam in her eye. "Next time you get shot…maybe we'll see about it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Wait…really?"

But she only smiled mysteriously, turning on her heel to head for the gym for a little workout. "See you later, partner."

"Kensi?" he called after her. "You're — you're teasing, right? It's not nice to tease! Kensi…?"


End file.
